Tennessee To Send Out 853 Layoff Notices This Week

News Channel 5 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - Governor Phil Bredesen said Tennessee will mail out over 800 layoff notices to state employees this week. Another 300 hundred notices will go out in the next several months. The Democratic governor said Wednesday that the layoffs are being made for "business reasons" amid bleak budget conditions. Bredesen said the laid off workers will be given three months notice that their jobs are being eliminated. They will also be paid $3,200 in severance and be eligible for college tuition credits. Bredesen said notices will be sent out to 853 workers mostly in the intellectual disabilities and children's services field. Another 317 will be sent to workers over the next six months as the state shuts down the Clover Bottom long-term care facility for the mentally disabled in Nashville. (Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)